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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Vanderbilt
Rebels Drop Heartbreaker at No. 17 Vanderbilt
3/9/2018 | Men's Tennis
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Ole Miss men's tennis team won the doubles point at No. 17 Vanderbilt, but the Commodores won all six first sets in singles and staved off a Rebel rally to hold on for a 4-3 win here Friday at the Currey Tennis Center.
The match came down to court four where Vanderbilt's Billy Rowe held on to defeat Fabian Fallert 7-6(8), 4-6, 7-5 to clinch the victory.
Early momentum went to the Rebels as they began the day by taking the doubles point with wins on courts three and one.
Vanderbilt came out strong to begin singles winning all six first sets to take back the momentum. The Commodores picked up a pair of straight set wins on courts three and six against Grey Hamilton and Finn Reynolds to take a 2-1 lead.
Senior Gustav Hansson rallied to win his match against Daniel Valent 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 1 singles to tie the match at 2-2.
The Commodores regained the lead (3-2) when Cameron Klinger finished off Tim Sandkaulen 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-2 on court two.
Filip Kraljevic won a huge second-set tiebreaker and dominated the third set against VU's Maxwell Freeman for a 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-0 win on court five to tie the match again and set up the final outcome.
Everyone then turned to court four, where Fallert trailed Rowe 4-2 in the third. Fallert would rally to get back on serve, but Rowe turned the tables again and served for it at 5-3. Fallert saved two match points initially and broke for 4-5, and then saved three match points on his own serve, including a huge passing shot on the deuce point. Rowe held his serve for 6-5, and then quickly got out to 0-40 on Fallert's serve. Fallert saved two more match points before Rowe hit a passing shot down the line to clinch.
Quick Hits…
• The Rebels are now 9-4 overall and 1-2 in the SEC.
• The loss snapped a five-match win streak in the series for the Rebels.
• Tim Sandkaulen and Fabian Fallert improved to 7-2 at No. 1 doubles.
• Gustav Hansson improved to 6-4 at No. 1 singles.
• Filip Kraljevic won his 10th match of the year.
#17 Vanderbilt 4, #32 Ole Miss 3
Doubles
1. #15 Tim Sandkaulen/Fabian Fallert (OM) vs. #57 Cameron Klinger/Billy Rowe (VU) 6-3
2. #24 Zvonimir Babic/Filip Kraljevic (OM) def. #75 Lachlan McPhee/Panu Virtanen (VU) 5-4, sus.
3. Gustav Hansson/Finn Reynolds (OM) def. Daniel Valent/Baker Newman (VU) 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1
Singles
1. #48 Gustav Hansson (OM) def. Daniel Valent (VU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
2. #57 Cameron Klinger (VU) def. #19 Tim Sandkaulen (OM) 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-2
3. Baker Newman (VU) def. Grey Hamilton (OM) 6-3, 6-4
4. Billy Rowe (VU) def. Fabian Fallert (OM) 7-6(8), 4-6, 7-5
5. #106 Filip Kraljevic (OM) def. Maxwell Freeman (VU) 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-0
6. George Harwell (VU) def. Finn Reynolds (OM) 6-3, 7-6
Order of Finish: 3, 6, 1, 2, 5, 4
At the Net with Head Coach Toby Hansson...
"We were all part of an incredible battle tonight. Hats off to Vanderbilt and their coaching staff for getting their guys ready tonight. Everyone was pushing their opponent to their limits and it was incredible to see how no one gave in on either side. I am really proud of all our guys effort today and I can't wait to go out on Sunday and get after it again."
Next up…
"The Rebels travel to Lexington for a Noon Sunday match against Kentucky.
For more information on Ole Miss Men's Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter @OleMissMTennis, on Facebook at OleMissMTennis and on Instagram at OleMissMTennis, follow Coach Hansson on Twitter at @TennisToby.
Players Mentioned
